Oogwei ate its cucumbers with a satisfied expression on its face. Seated beside it was Xod, the Guardian of the Floor of Beginnings, and Yves, the Guardian of the Floor of Partings.
“It’s good that you didn’t tell him about the artifact,” Yves said with a smile.
“Why should I?” Oogwei asked in an innocent tone. “That is already outside of my jurisdiction. I already gave him enough information about your floor. That in itself is already pushing the rules.”
Xod and Yves nodded their heads. There was an unwritten rule between the Guardians of the Tower. None of them would actively get in the way of each other’s business.
“Still, I have a feeling that the feud in your floor is about to end,” Xod commented. It then grinned evilly because even if William were to succeed in helping Xavier become the Patriarch of the Tristan Family, the Half-Elf would still need to undertake Yves’ trial to go to the 10th Floor.
Since William and Chiffon were a pair, one of them had to stay behind. This was the rule in Yves’ domain and this rule had existed since the tower arrived in the World of Hestia.
Xod, Oogwei, and Yves were curious about who among the two would advance, and who would be the one who would be left behind.
“Do the two of you want to bet?” Xod asked. “Let us all bet this month’s salary. Winner takes all.”
Yves nodded its head. “Sounds like a plan. I will give you a handicap and allow you to choose first.”
The Guardian of the 9th Floor was a Giant Cobra with dark gold scales. Oogwei had many friends in the tower because of the little turtle’s chill personality. Yves was one of them. Actually, Yves had asked Oogwei for the favor of bringing some new players to the 9th Floor to help end the battle faster.
It didn’t care who among Xander and Xavier would win their fight for supremacy. It just wanted for things to end faster, so it asked its friend Oogwei for help.
The green-skinned Guardian nodded its head. Truth be told, it didn’t know if William would leave Chiffon behind. However, it noticed that the little girl was very obedient to the Half-Elf’s orders. Because of this, the chances of William climbing the tower was higher compared to Chiffon.
“Okay, I’ll choose William,” Xod said after careful consideration. “He will be the one to climb the tower and leave Chiffon behind.”
Yves tongue flicked thrice before replying.
“Very well, I will choose Chiffon,” Yves stated. “I will bet this month’s salary.”
The two Guardians smiled at each other because this was a rare occasion where they had raised the stakes this high. Gambling was a common pastime among the Guardians. Ever since the players failed to capture the 51st Floor, their daily lives had become monotonous.
Sometimes, they would go into hibernation for long periods of time. They would only awaken if something of importance happened in the Domain they supervised. Since each of them was responsible for taking care of a floor in Babylon, they still needed to perform their task when the circumstances called for it.
Each Guardian would receive a salary every month. The currency they received from the tower was not tokens, but Karma Points.
These Karma Points that they received on a monthly basis, would allow them to exchange things from the Karma Shop. the items on the list couldn’t be compared to the items that the mortals could exchange using their tokens in the tower.
The difference between the two was like night and day.
Some of the things that the Guardians could exchange from the Karma Shop were habitable planets, on which they would be worshipped as Gods.
They could also buy the right to become a constellation. Once they became one, they could send their spirit to enter the cycle of reincarnation, and live a new life. In these new lives, they would be able to harness the power of their own constellations and wield the power they had in the past.
This was very similar to what happened to Ella. The only problem was that her constellation couldn’t be seen in the world of Hestia.
If her constellation was there, she would be able to unleash her full powers, without worrying about her vessel being unable to withstand its backlash.
“Sounds fun,” Oogwei interjected after it finished eating its cucumbers. “I will also bet this month’s salary.”
“Oh? Who would you bet on?” Xod asked with a smile.
Yves also looked at its friend with genuine curiosity.
“Since Xod has bet on William, and Yves chose Chiffon, I’ll bet that both of them will proceed to the next floor together,” Oogwei said with a smile.
Xod and Yves exchanged a glance before laughing together.
“Hahaha! Okay! Let’s go with that! I didn’t know that you were so generous.” Xod said after it finished laughing. “You planned on giving your Karma Points for free. As one of your friends, I humbly accept your sacrifice.”
Yves coiled up and lowered its head to look at its friend. “Oogwei, being wasteful is no good. It’s impossible for your bet to happen. No one can disregard the rule of my Domain.”
Oogwei grinned. “Just think of it as me raising the prize money for the both of you. Regardless of who wins in the end, my bet still stands.”
Xod and Yves exchanged a glance before shaking their heads. They couldn’t understand why Oogwei would do such a thing, but since Karma Points were important to them, they would not dissuade the little turtle if it was dead set on joining their bet.
Oogwei looked at the projection in front of it which showed William and Chiffon’s actions in real time. The little turtle chuckled internally because it believed its intuition. It was sure that William wouldn’t leave Chiffon behind, and Chiffon wouldn’t leave without her Big Brother.
Since that was the case, there was only one answer.
‘Both of them will climb to the next floor together,’ Oogwei mused. It then looked at its two friends with a smirk. ‘We’ll see who will have the last laugh once this is over.’
